Hague says Britain will not leave the EU, but will ask for fundamental reform

"On Monday, the House of Commons will vote on a motion for a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union. The Government will oppose the motion. Our policy is very clear: we believe that Britain should be in Europe, not run by Europe. We believe that Europe needs fundamental reform. As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer" - Telegraph

"Cabinet ministers are privately urging David Cameron to back down in a row with his backbenchers over a symbolic Commons vote on whether Britain should hold a referendum over membership of the European Union. Downing Street is still insisting that MPs must reject the plan on Monday. Behind the scenes, however, senior figures have been holding crisis talks over whether they are right to continue to try telling MPs to block the motion.Senior Tory figures are telling the Prime Minister that forcing a confrontation over Europe with his backbenchers, in a symbolic vote that holds no legal force, could sour relations permanently" - Times (£)

Miliband: future shape of EU is at stake – and all Tories can do is squabble - Guardian

Fears from within the Government of Bercow blocking plans to stop EU revolt

"One senior government source said ministers were resigned to the Speaker rejecting the amendments and confining the debate to the entire motion. The source said: “The amendments might be helpful, because some of the rebels would peel off to support them, but the reality is that Bercow will probably refuse to call them out of spite, just to make life harder for us.” Even if Mr Bercow does call a vote on the amendments, there were signs yesterday that few of the rebels were prepared to back the alternative plans" - Telegraph

Due to failed assurances, the EU is a "central reason" for the Tories having the image of "smug liars" says Charles Moore

"One of the images that the Cameron modernisers have rightly tried hardest to change is the idea that the Tories are smug liars. They do not seem to realise that Europe is a central reason for that image’s persistence. Right back to Edward Heath promising no loss of sovereignty 40 years ago, and right up to Mr Cameron’s “cast-iron” guarantee of a referendum, the public have been given assurances by leading Conservatives. Not wishing to be rude, I shall confine myself to saying that not one of these assurances has been fulfilled" - Telegraph

Simon Heffer: "Cameron is horrified by the prospect of a referendum because, as a committed pro-European, he fears the result might reveal the true depth of anti-EU feeling in the country" - Daily Mail

Lord Tebbit warns that Tories may desert Cameron on his refusal to give referendum on the EU - Express

Daily Mail Comment: 'What's wrong with an open debate on the EU?' - Daily Mail

It is to Cameron's credit that he values the importance of a parliamentary debate on the EU referendum says Matthew Parris

"Mr Cameron has brought forward the debate so that he can be there and Mr Hague can lead it. This debate does matter. Parliament matters. Government backbench MPs matter. Many of them, impelled by passions that are intelligent, sincere and public-spirited, are teetering on the brink of a very bad call for their party, their country, and for themselves. The Prime Minister cares about this. He ought to" - Times (£)

Cameron to tell EU leaders in Brussels today, that they have 5 days to save the €uro from catastrophe

"David Cameron is due in Brussels tomorrow for talks with 26 other countries over a deal aimed at preventing a collapse of the single currency and stemming the bloc's debt crisis that threatens to drag the UK back into recession. A serious rift has opened up between France and Germany over a rescue deal, meaning a second summit of eurozone leaders will be held on Wednesday. Britain believes that if a deal is not struck in the 'critical' days ahead, market chaos will ensue. Mr Cameron is set to agree to new rules affecting the banking sector at this weekend's summit, which will require those exposed to the debts of stricken states such as Greece to hold more cash to shield themselves against potential defaults" - Daily Mail

Cameron will warn the 17 members of the €urozone not to dictate policies to those outside - Independent

Hammond tells businesses to "pack their suitcases" to cash in on reconstruction contracts in Libya

"Libya is a relatively wealthy country with oil reserves, and I expect there will be opportunities for British and other companies to get involved in the reconstruction of Libya," he told the BBC in an interview. "I would expect British companies, even British sales directors, [to be] packing their suitcases and looking to get out to Libya and take part in the reconstruction of that country as soon as they can," said Hammond, who replaced Liam Fox as defence secretary a week ago. He added that after a "hugely successful" British mission in Libya, Britain now needed "to support the Libyans to turn the liberation of their country into a successful stabilisation so that Libya can be a beacon of prosperity and democracy in north Africa going forward" - Guardian

Heseltine agrees with Cameron on the state of "broken Britain", arguing that "crime does pay"

"David Cameron is, in his view, right to talk about “broken Britain”. “There is an understanding that society has a set of values — law and order, a decent education, parental responsibility, social obligations. But there are communities which don’t believe any of that. They have no idea of a job. The single-parent phenomenon is an important part of it — there are no male mentors. Crime does pay. At the age of 13 they start mugging other kids for their mobiles. You can see a stark situation at the extreme where the guy who has got his degree is unemployed and floundering while Mr Big, who is running the local gang and up to no good, is doing better than him” - Times (£)

The Women's Institute head criticises the Coalition, questioning whether Cameron listens to women

"Ruth Bond, the chairman of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, said David Cameron is not listening to women, who have to “push and fight” to gain recognition. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, she criticised Mr Cameron’s male-dominated Cabinet, the Coalition’s “chilling” decision to cut legal aid in divorce cases and to scrap an organisation that represents women in Whitehall. “The way they engage with women is not terribly good,” she said. “I don’t know if they listen to us really, quite frankly.” - Telegraph

Head of Britain's statistics watchdog rebukes Boris over the use of questionable statistics - Telegraph

"If Johnson's life reads like a riotous bedroom farce, part Jilly Cooper, part Just William, Livingstone offers us an exhaustive account of internal local government machinations, city hall bureaucracy, transport policy memos and more psephological detail than even the nerdiest anorak could conceivably want" - Guardian

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